Overpayment of TC's, they want it ALL repaid within 2 weeks?! 20 December 2005 at 3:59PM in Benefits & tax credits 5 replies 879 views

shellsuit

Just got home from work to find a letter from the IR.

Apparantly I was overpaid £722 of TC's for the period ending 25/10/2004 (God knows how, I answered everything honestly).

Letter has a payment slip at the bottom and they want it by the 14th Jan 2006.

That's just over 2 weeks to pay back what I haven't got!

Any ideas of what I do now please?

I'll ring them in the morning, firstly to ask WHY I have been overpaid when I answered everything honestly.

If they insist I repay this money, can we just pay what we can afford (which will be about £40 a month/10 a week) as the bottom of the letter says we can pay it back over 12 months, but there is no way we can afford £60 a month.

Savvy_Sue

In the absence of anyone more knowledgeable answering, look back through previous threads on tax credit overpayments. There is a particular form you have to fill in to appeal - is that mentioned in the letter or are they saying there isn't a right of appeal?

catzeyes79

HI,
You should be able to appeal against the O/P. i assume that this is the first time you have had an overpayment and have had no other overpayments on previous years i.e. the 03-04 tax year. Speak to the help line and request a T.C846 "request to reconsider overpayment of tax credits".
Furthermore Dawn Primiola the pay master general also said in the house of commons that all recovery of tax credits should and will be suspended whilst it is being disputed. However, if you have already disputed the overpayment once you can have the decision reviewed but the recovery will no be suspended.
If you are liable to pay back the money you can contact the IR and discuss what is called a time to pay. contrary to popular belief they are not unreasonable ad expecially surrounding this issue.

Also see other posts re tax credits as i have posted bits here and there

Happy xmas

shellsuit

Hi again,

I didn't even know I had been overpaid until I received this notice for repayment today!

I started work last year (24th Sep to be precise) and claimed on my own. When my fiance moved in with me, we then claimed as a couple, told them as soon as he moved in, so they stopped my claim then did a fresh new claim for the 2 of us.

This letter is about just my claim as it it just addressed to me (as opposed to mine and my fiances TC's as they are addressed to both of us).

I had answered everything honestly, ie, when I started work, how much benefits I had received in the past year etc etc.

I will phone them tomorrow to ask why exactly I had been overpaid as if I had, it is their fault not mine, then will ask for forms to appeal.

Fingers crossed I will get it sorted!

Bagpuss1973

I was overpaid some working tax credit and had the same letter you had I expect with the payment slip, however I telephoned the number that was on the letter where it said that if I wanted to arrange a payment plan I could, duly did this and spoke to a very nice chap on the 'phone. Arranged to pay my overpayment over the next 6 months (I could have had 12 months if I wanted but luckily my overpayment was quite small).

Hope all goes well, just give them a ring. They simply asked me all my details and then sent me a form to do a direct debit from my bank, I can't remember if you have to have direct debit but I don't think you do, all the chap said was that if I did not pay an instalment then I think I would lose the right to pay be instalment.

Goodluck!

Regards

Bagpussx

irs101

Hi

This case is different from most overpayments, because it relates to a finalised award (one that is no longer valid). The trouble is that your award up until that date would have been based on an estimate of your income for the whole of 04/05. So HMRC can't work out your actual entitlement until the end of the tax year - the payments you received were just a 'best guess' because even you couldn't have said with certainty what you were going to earn over the whole year.

They've now done the calculation and found that they've overpaid you. I suspect that there is a strong possibility that they've got it right in this case, but you should absolutely ask them to explain exactly how the overpayment has arisen and, if you are still in any doubt, appeal.

Because this relates to a finished award they can't do what they would do with a live award and deduct it from your current payments (and they can't transfer the overpayment to your new joint claim). Hence why they've asked for it to be paid back directly. But, as mentioned by Bagpuss, you are entitled to ask them to spread the repayment over 12 months.

Good luck

irs